Thursday, April 11, 2013

If you've been following me for a while, you know how much I LOVE Astraea Press. They publish clean fiction and are a very generous company. I've read quite a few of their books and have enjoyed each one (I also have many more I'm still wanting to read). I recently jumped at the opportunity to do some reviews for them.

From Amazon: When widow Katie Lafferty arrives at the Pythian House, a home for widows and orphans, she has little hope for the future. She soon learns the reality offers more grueling work than she could have imagined. One of the few bright spots in her daily drudgery is Latin Master Everett Brown at the school across the street. As Katie struggles to conform to the rules and settle into her new life, she looks forward to her chance meetings with Mr. Brown When she fails to meet the standards of the home, her future becomes even more uncertain. If she has a knight in shining armor, it’s Everett Brown.

When Katie's husband dies, he leaves her destitute so her only option is to go live at Pythian House. Katie has a hard time fitting in because she's young and most of the widows are quite a bit older than she is. She has to wear a faded, dull housedress and works hard in the kitchen. She also doesn't get bent out of shape when the orphan boys that live there cause some trouble. Dr. Patterson, the director, is quite rigid and runs a tight ship. She meets Everett Brown, but nobody at Pythian House likes him so they're always frowning at her whenever they see her with him.

She's pretty downtrodden at the beginning of the story and life starts to look brighter once she meets Everett Brown. They become fast friends and he's a lifesaver to her. A second chance at love lifts her spirits and brings hope into her future.

This was a light, enjoyable, quick, clean read. I easily read it in an afternoon.